DOCSLIB.ORG

View Curriculum Vitae

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
View Curriculum Vitae PETER J. LEWIS Curriculum Vitae July 19, 2019 Department of Philosophy, Dartmouth College 6035 Thornton Hall, 19 College St Hanover, NH 03755 Tel: 603-646-2308 Email: [email protected] Web page: https://sites.google.com/site/peterlewisphilosophy/ EDUCATION: Ph.D. in philosophy, University of California, Irvine, March 1996. M.A. in philosophy, University of California, Irvine, June 1992. B.A. in physics, Brasenose College, Oxford, June 1988. EMPLOYMENT: Professor, Dartmouth College, July 2017 to present. Associate Professor, University of Miami, August 2007 to July 2017 Assistant Professor, University of Miami, August 2001 to August 2007. Visiting Lecturer, University of Miami, August 2000 to August 2001. Visiting Lecturer and Honorary Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong, December 1998 to August 2000. Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University, September 1998 to August 2000. Visiting Assistant Professor, Texas Tech University, May 1997 to May 1998. Visiting Instructor, Texas Tech University, September 1995 to May 1997. Teaching Associate/Assistant, University of California, Irvine, September 1990 to June 1995. AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION: Philosophy of Physics, Philosophy of Science. AREAS OF COMPETENCE: Epistemology, Metaphysics. BOOKS: Quantum Ontology: A Guide to the Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics. Oxford University Press (2016). REFEREED ARTICLES: (with Don Fallis), “Accuracy, conditionalization, and probabilism”, forthcoming in Synthese, doi: 10.1007/s11229-019-02298-3. “Against ‘experience’”, forthcoming in S. Gao (ed.), Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness. Oxford University Press. “Bohmian philosophy of mind?” forthcoming in J. Acacio de Barros and C. Montemayor (eds.), Quanta and Mind: Essays on the Connection between Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness. Springer. “Quantum Mechanics and its (Dis)Contents”, forthcoming in J. Saatsi and S. French (eds.), Scientific Realism and the Quantum. Oxford University Press. “Collapse Theories”, forthcoming in A. Wilson (ed.), Companion to the Philosophy of Physics. Routledge. “Bell’s theorem, realism, and locality”, in A. Cordero (ed.), Philosophers Look at Quantum Mechanics. Springer, 33–43 (2019). (with Don Fallis), “Toward a Formal Analysis of Deceptive Signaling”, Synthese 196: 2279– 2303 (2019). “Bell’s theorem 55 years on”, Introduction to Virtual Issue, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, https://academic.oup.com/bjps/pages/bells_theorem_vi (2019) “Inferring particles”, Metascience 27: 357–364 (2018). “On the Status of Primitive Ontology”, in S. Gao (ed.), Collapse of the Wave Function. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 154–166 (2018). “Quantum Mechanics, Emergence, and Fundamentality”, Philosophica 92: 53–75 (2017). “Holism and Time Symmetry”, Quanta 5: 95–92 (2016). (with Don Fallis), “The Brier Rule is Not a Good Measure of Epistemic Utility (and Other Useful Facts about Epistemic Betterness)”, Australasian Journal of Philosophy 94: 576– 590 (2016). “In Search of Local Beables”, International Journal of Quantum Foundations 1: 215–229 (2015). “Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics”, in J. Fieser and B. Dowden (eds.), The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://www.iep.utm.edu/qm-inter/ (2015). “Measurement and Metaphysics”, in S. Gao (ed.), Protective Measurement and Quantum Reality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 93–106 (2014). “Retrocausal Quantum Mechanics: Maudlin's Challenge Revisited”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 44: 442–449 (2013). “The Doomsday Argument and the Simulation Argument”, Synthese 190: 4009–4022 (2013). “Dimension and Illusion”, in A. Ney and D. Albert (eds.), The Wave Function. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 110–125 (2013). “Probability in Everettian Quantum Mechanics”, Manuscrito 33: 285–306 (2010). “Credence and Self-Location”, Synthese 175: 369–382 (2010). “A Note on the Doomsday Argument”, Analysis 70: 27–30 (2010). “Probability, Self-Location, and Quantum Branching”, Philosophy of Science 76: 1009–1019 (2009). “Metaphysics and Quantum Physics”, in R. Le Poidevin, P. Simons, A. McGonigal and R. Cameron (eds.), Routledge Companion to Metaphysics. Abingdon: Routledge, 517–526 (2009). “Reply to Papineau and Durà-Vilà”, Analysis 69: 86–89 (2009). “How Bohm’s Theory Solves the Measurement Problem”, Philosophy of Science 74: 749–760 (2007). “Towards a local hidden variable theory”, Foundations of Physics 37: 1461–1469 (2007). “Empty Waves in Bohmian Quantum Mechanics”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 58: 787–803 (2007). “Uncertainty and Probability for Branching Selves”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 38: 1–14 (2007). “Quantum Sleeping Beauty”, Analysis 67: 59–65 (2007). “Conspiracy Theories of Quantum Mechanics”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 57: 359–381 (2006). “GRW: A Case Study in Quantum Ontology”, Philosophy Compass 1: 224–244 (2006). “Interpreting Spontaneous Collapse Theories”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36: 165–180 (2005). “Life in Configuration Space”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 55: 713–729 (2004). “Quantum Mechanics and Ordinary Language: The Fuzzy Link”, Philosophy of Science 70: 1437–1446 (2003). “Four Strategies for Dealing with the Counting Anomaly in Spontaneous Collapse Theories of Quantum Mechanics”, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 17: 137–142, (2003). “Counting Marbles: A Reply to Critics”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 54: 165–170 (2003). “Why the Pessimistic Induction is a Fallacy”, Synthese 129: 371–380 (2001). “What is it Like to be Schrödinger’s cat?”, Analysis 60.1: 22–29 (2000). “Quantum Mechanics, Orthogonality and Counting”, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 48: 313–328 (1997). “GRW and the Tails Problem”, Topoi 14: 23–33 (1995). “Quantum Mechanics and Ontological Commitment”, Kriterion 5: 3–6 (1993). BOOK REVIEWS: Shan Gao, The Meaning of the Wave Function: In Search of the Ontology of Quantum Mechanics (Cambridge University Press 2017), International Journal of Quantum Foundations (2018): 204-209. David Wallace, The Emergent Multiverse: Quantum Theory according to the Everett Interpretation (Oxford University Press 2012), Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (2013). Simon Saunders, Jonathan Barrett, Adrian Kent and David Wallace (eds.), Many Worlds? Everett, Quantum Theory, and Reality (Oxford University Press 2010), Philosophy of Science 79:177–181 (2012). MEDIA: “Why philosophy of quantum mechanics is more important than that of poached eggs”, interview, 3am Magazine, http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/philosophy-quantum-mechanics- important-poached-eggs/ CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION: Workshop on Quantum Indeterminacy, Dartmouth College, July 2019. Society for Exact Philosophy, University of Miami, May 2016. Chair and moderator, section on the meaning of the wave function, Online Workshop on Quantum Foundations, July 9–19, 2015. Workshop on Retrocausality and Time-Symmetry, University of Miami, January 2013. REFEREED PRESENTATIONS: “Pragmatism and the Content of Quantum Mechanics”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Seattle, November 2018. “Pragmatism and the Content of Quantum Mechanics”, Australasian Association of Philosophy Annual Meeting, Wellington, New Zealand, July 2018. (with Don Fallis), “Accuracy, Conditionalization, and Probabilism”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Atlanta, November 2016. “Sleeping Beauty Minimizes Inaccuracy”, Society for Exact Philosophy Annual Meeting, Miami, May 2016. “Quantum Onto-Psychology”, Psycho-Ontology Conference, Shalem Center, Jerusalem, December 2011. “Wavefunction Possibilism”, Australasian Association of Philosophy Annual Meeting, Dunedin, New Zealand, July 2011. “Can Transactional Description of Quantum Mechanical Reality be Considered Complete?”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Montreal, November 2010. “Doom and Gloom: The Doomsday Argument and the Pessimistic Induction”, Society for Exact Philosophy Annual Meeting, Kansas City, March 2010. “Probability, Self-Location, and Quantum Branching”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh, November 2008. “Probability, Self-Location and Quantum Branching”, British Society for the Philosophy of Science Annual Meeting, St Andrews, July 2008. “Empty Waves in Bohmian Quantum Mechanics”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Vancouver BC, November 2006. “Empty Waves and Small Waves in Quantum Mechanics”, Australasian Association of Philosophy Annual Meeting, Sydney, Australia, July 2005. “Uncertainty and Probability for Branching Selves”, American Philosophical Association Eastern Division Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, December 2004. “Quantum Mechanics, Probability and Immortality”, Florida Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, Florida, November 2003. “Quantum Mechanics and Ordinary Language: The Fuzzy Link”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 2002. “In which Error Statistics Rescues Realism from the Pessimistic Induction”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Vancouver BC, November 2000. “Why the Pessimistic Induction is a Fallacy”, Florida Philosophical Association Annual Meeting, Sarasota, Florida, November 2000. “Why the Pessimistic Induction is a Fallacy”, American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, Albuquerque NM, April 2000. “The Physical, the Mental and the Local”, Alabama Philosophical Society Annual Meeting, Orange Beach, Alabama,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Divine Action and the World of Science: What Cosmology and Quantum Physics Teach Us About the Role of Providence in Nature 247 Bruce L
    Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies JBTSVOLUME 2 | ISSUE 2 Christianity and the Philosophy of Science Divine Action and the World of Science: What Cosmology and Quantum Physics Teach Us about the Role of Providence in Nature 247 Bruce L. Gordon [JBTS 2.2 (2017): 247-298] Divine Action and the World of Science: What Cosmology and Quantum Physics Teach Us about the Role of Providence in Nature1 BRUCE L. GORDON Bruce L. Gordon is Associate Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science at Houston Baptist University and a Senior Fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture Abstract: Modern science has revealed a world far more exotic and wonder- provoking than our wildest imaginings could have anticipated. It is the purpose of this essay to introduce the reader to the empirical discoveries and scientific concepts that limn our understanding of how reality is structured and interconnected—from the incomprehensibly large to the inconceivably small—and to draw out the metaphysical implications of this picture. What is unveiled is a universe in which Mind plays an indispensable role: from the uncanny life-giving precision inscribed in its initial conditions, mathematical regularities, and natural constants in the distant past, to its material insubstantiality and absolute dependence on transcendent causation for causal closure and phenomenological coherence in the present, the reality we inhabit is one in which divine action is before all things, in all things, and constitutes the very basis on which all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). §1. Introduction: The Intelligible Cosmos For science to be possible there has to be order present in nature and it has to be discoverable by the human mind.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Chemistry
    Philosophy of Science and Philosophy of Chemistry Jaap van Brakel Abstract: In this paper I assess the relation between philosophy of chemistry and (general) philosophy of science, focusing on those themes in the philoso- phy of chemistry that may bring about major revisions or extensions of cur- rent philosophy of science. Three themes can claim to make a unique contri- bution to philosophy of science: first, the variety of materials in the (natural and artificial) world; second, extending the world by making new stuff; and, third, specific features of the relations between chemistry and physics. Keywords : philosophy of science, philosophy of chemistry, interdiscourse relations, making stuff, variety of substances . 1. Introduction Chemistry is unique and distinguishes itself from all other sciences, with respect to three broad issues: • A (variety of) stuff perspective, requiring conceptual analysis of the notion of stuff or material (Sections 4 and 5). • A making stuff perspective: the transformation of stuff by chemical reaction or phase transition (Section 6). • The pivotal role of the relations between chemistry and physics in connection with the question how everything fits together (Section 7). All themes in the philosophy of chemistry can be classified in one of these three clusters or make contributions to general philosophy of science that, as yet , are not particularly different from similar contributions from other sci- ences (Section 3). I do not exclude the possibility of there being more than three clusters of philosophical issues unique to philosophy of chemistry, but I am not aware of any as yet. Moreover, highlighting the issues discussed in Sections 5-7 does not mean that issues reviewed in Section 3 are less im- portant in revising the philosophy of science.
    [Show full text]
  • Accommodating Retrocausality with Free Will Yakir Aharonov Chapman University, [email protected]
    Chapman University Chapman University Digital Commons Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Science and Technology Faculty Articles and Faculty Articles and Research Research 2016 Accommodating Retrocausality with Free Will Yakir Aharonov Chapman University, [email protected] Eliahu Cohen Tel Aviv University Tomer Shushi University of Haifa Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_articles Part of the Quantum Physics Commons Recommended Citation Aharonov, Y., Cohen, E., & Shushi, T. (2016). Accommodating Retrocausality with Free Will. Quanta, 5(1), 53-60. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.12743/quanta.v5i1.44 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Science and Technology Faculty Articles and Research at Chapman University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research by an authorized administrator of Chapman University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Accommodating Retrocausality with Free Will Comments This article was originally published in Quanta, volume 5, issue 1, in 2016. DOI: 10.12743/quanta.v5i1.44 Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. This article is available at Chapman University Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/scs_articles/334 Accommodating Retrocausality with Free Will Yakir Aharonov 1;2, Eliahu Cohen 1;3 & Tomer Shushi 4 1 School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Schmid College of Science, Chapman University, Orange, California, USA. E-mail: [email protected] 3 H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Bell's Theorem and Its Tests
    PHYSICS ESSAYS 33, 2 (2020) Bell’s theorem and its tests: Proof that nature is superdeterministic—Not random Johan Hanssona) Division of Physics, Lulea˚ University of Technology, SE-971 87 Lulea˚, Sweden (Received 9 March 2020; accepted 7 May 2020; published online 22 May 2020) Abstract: By analyzing the same Bell experiment in different reference frames, we show that nature at its fundamental level is superdeterministic, not random, in contrast to what is indicated by orthodox quantum mechanics. Events—including the results of quantum mechanical measurements—in global space-time are fixed prior to measurement. VC 2020 Physics Essays Publication. [http://dx.doi.org/10.4006/0836-1398-33.2.216] Resume: En analysant l’experience de Bell dans d’autres cadres de reference, nous demontrons que la nature est super deterministe au niveau fondamental et non pas aleatoire, contrairement ace que predit la mecanique quantique. Des evenements, incluant les resultats des mesures mecaniques quantiques, dans un espace-temps global sont fixes avant la mesure. Key words: Quantum Nonlocality; Bell’s Theorem; Quantum Measurement. Bell’s theorem1 is not merely a statement about quantum Registered outcomes at either side, however, are classi- mechanics but about nature itself, and will survive even if cal objective events (for example, a sequence of zeros and quantum mechanics is superseded by an even more funda- ones representing spin up or down along some chosen mental theory in the future. Although Bell used aspects of direction), e.g., markings on a paper printout ¼ classical quantum theory in his original proof, the same results can be facts ¼ events ¼ points defining (constituting) global space- obtained without doing so.2,3 The many experimental tests of time itself.
    [Show full text]
  • Dynamical Relaxation to Quantum Equilibrium
    Dynamical relaxation to quantum equilibrium Or, an account of Mike's attempt to write an entirely new computer code that doesn't do quantum Monte Carlo for the first time in years. ESDG, 10th February 2010 Mike Towler TCM Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/∼mdt26 and www.vallico.net/tti/tti.html [email protected] { Typeset by FoilTEX { 1 What I talked about a month ago (`Exchange, antisymmetry and Pauli repulsion', ESDG Jan 13th 2010) I showed that (1) the assumption that fermions are point particles with a continuous objective existence, and (2) the equations of non-relativistic QM, allow us to deduce: • ..that a mathematically well-defined ‘fifth force', non-local in character, appears to act on the particles and causes their trajectories to differ from the classical ones. • ..that this force appears to have its origin in an objectively-existing `wave field’ mathematically represented by the usual QM wave function. • ..that indistinguishability arguments are invalid under these assumptions; rather antisymmetrization implies the introduction of forces between particles. • ..the nature of spin. • ..that the action of the force prevents two fermions from coming into close proximity when `their spins are the same', and that in general, this mechanism prevents fermions from occupying the same quantum state. This is a readily understandable causal explanation for the Exclusion principle and for its otherwise inexplicable consequences such as `degeneracy pressure' in a white dwarf star. Furthermore, if assume antisymmetry of wave field not fundamental but develops naturally over the course of time, then can see character of reason for fermionic wave functions having symmetry behaviour they do.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case for Quantum Key Distribution
    The Case for Quantum Key Distribution Douglas Stebila1, Michele Mosca2,3,4, and Norbert Lütkenhaus2,4,5 1 Information Security Institute, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia 2 Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo 3 Dept. of Combinatorics & Optimization, University of Waterloo 4 Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics 5 Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] December 2, 2009 Abstract Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises secure key agreement by using quantum mechanical systems. We argue that QKD will be an important part of future cryptographic infrastructures. It can provide long-term confidentiality for encrypted information without reliance on computational assumptions. Although QKD still requires authentication to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, it can make use of either information-theoretically secure symmetric key authentication or computationally secure public key authentication: even when using public key authentication, we argue that QKD still offers stronger security than classical key agreement. 1 Introduction Since its discovery, the field of quantum cryptography — and in particular, quantum key distribution (QKD) — has garnered widespread technical and popular interest. The promise of “unconditional security” has brought public interest, but the often unbridled optimism expressed for this field has also spawned criticism and analysis [Sch03, PPS04, Sch07, Sch08]. QKD is a new tool in the cryptographer’s toolbox: it allows for secure key agreement over an untrusted channel where the output key is entirely independent from any input value, a task that is impossible using classical1 cryptography. QKD does not eliminate the need for other cryptographic primitives, such as authentication, but it can be used to build systems with new security properties.
    [Show full text]
  • 151545957.Pdf
    Universit´ede Montr´eal Towards a Philosophical Reconstruction of the Dialogue between Modern Physics and Advaita Ved¯anta: An Inquiry into the Concepts of ¯ak¯a´sa, Vacuum and Reality par Jonathan Duquette Facult´ede th´eologie et de sciences des religions Th`ese pr´esent´ee `ala Facult´edes ´etudes sup´erieures en vue de l’obtention du grade de Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.) en sciences des religions Septembre 2010 c Jonathan Duquette, 2010 Universit´ede Montr´eal Facult´edes ´etudes sup´erieures et postdoctorales Cette th`ese intitul´ee: Towards A Philosophical Reconstruction of the Dialogue between Modern Physics and Advaita Ved¯anta: An Inquiry into the Concepts of ¯ak¯a´sa, Vacuum and Reality pr´esent´ee par: Jonathan Duquette a ´et´e´evalu´ee par un jury compos´edes personnes suivantes: Patrice Brodeur, pr´esident-rapporteur Trichur S. Rukmani, directrice de recherche Normand Mousseau, codirecteur de recherche Solange Lefebvre, membre du jury Varadaraja Raman, examinateur externe Karine Bates, repr´esentante du doyen de la FESP ii Abstract Toward the end of the 19th century, the Hindu monk and reformer Swami Vivekananda claimed that modern science was inevitably converging towards Advaita Ved¯anta, an important philosophico-religious system in Hinduism. In the decades that followed, in the midst of the revolution occasioned by the emergence of Einstein’s relativity and quantum physics, a growing number of authors claimed to discover striking “par- allels” between Advaita Ved¯anta and modern physics. Such claims of convergence have continued to the present day, especially in relation to quantum physics. In this dissertation, an attempt is made to critically examine such claims by engaging a de- tailed comparative analysis of two concepts: ¯ak¯a´sa in Advaita Ved¯anta and vacuum in quantum physics.
    [Show full text]
  • The Parallel Universes Interpretation of Cosmology
    Cosmology, the Many Universes Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and Immortality N H E PRINCE [email protected] July 1, 2016 Abstract Observational evidence suggests that the universe is infinite, geometrically flat, homogeneous and isotropic on large scales. Hence we should expect to find large numbers of identical copies of any object consistent with the laws of physics including conscious identities like people. Under suitable notions of continuity of identity, This would imply that immortality of these conscious identities is a consequence of functionalism. I argue that the same conclusion can be drawn using an Everett Deutsch interpretation of quantum mechanics. I also argue why this is the correct interpretation. Lewis’s “terrifying corollary” is reviewed and I discuss how Bostrom’s simulation argument, if correct, might mitigate our futures. 1 Introduction It has been referred to as “quantum physics dirty little secret” [1, p6] – perhaps because to publicise it might lead those people, who little understand it, to develop suicidal tendencies in the hope that they might get into a better universe – This is definitely not a good idea! We’ll look at this little secret in more detail later. But in order to do this we will need to develop some background. First it must be said that the word “worlds” is often used interchangeably for “universes” in the literature. It is not used to mean planets like our own parochial world. Also, the idea of an observation or experiment translates into ordinary language as “looking”, “listening”, “touching” etc. as well as for more technical approaches such as using Charge Coupled Devices to detect individual photons of light in astronomy or interferometry.
    [Show full text]
  • Physics Needs Philosophy. Philosophy Needs Physics
    Found Phys (2018) 48:481–491 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-018-0167-y Physics Needs Philosophy. Philosophy Needs Physics Carlo Rovelli1 Received: 4 April 2018 / Accepted: 5 April 2018 / Published online: 3 May 2018 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Contrary to claims about the irrelevance of philosophy for science, I argue that philosophy has had, and still has, far more influence on physics than is commonly assumed. I maintain that the current anti-philosophical ideology has had damaging effects on the fertility of science. I also suggest that recent important empirical results, such as the detection of the Higgs particle and gravitational waves, and the failure to detect supersymmetry where many expected to find it, question the validity of certain philosophical assumptions common among theoretical physicists, inviting us to engage in a clearer philosophical reflection on scientific method. Keywords Philosophy of physics · Aristotle · Popper · Kuhn 1. Against Philosophy is the title of a chapter of a book by one of the great physicists of the last generation: Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize winner and one of the architects of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics [1]. Weinberg argues eloquently that philosophy is more damaging than helpful for physics—although it might pro- vide some good ideas at times, it is often a straightjacket that physicists have to free themselves from. More radically, Stephen Hawking famously wrote that “philosophy is dead” because the big questions that used to be discussed by philosophers are now in the hands of physicists [2]. Similar views are widespread among scientists, and scientists do not keep them to themselves.
    [Show full text]
  • Discerning “Indistinguishable” Quantum Systems
    Discerning \indistinguishable" quantum systems Adam Caulton∗ Abstract In a series of recent papers, Simon Saunders, Fred Muller and Michael Seevinck have collectively argued, against the folklore, that some non-trivial version of Leibniz's principle of the identity of indiscernibles is upheld in quantum mechanics. They argue that all particles|fermions, paraparti- cles, anyons, even bosons|may be weakly discerned by some physical re- lation. Here I show that their arguments make illegitimate appeal to non- symmetric, i.e. permutation-non-invariant, quantities, and that therefore their conclusions do not go through. However, I show that alternative, sym- metric quantities may be found to do the required work. I conclude that the Saunders-Muller-Seevinck heterodoxy can be saved after all. Contents 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Getting clear on Leibniz's Principle . 2 1.2 The folklore . 4 1.3 A new folklore? . 5 2 Muller and Saunders on discernment 6 2.1 The Muller-Saunders result . 6 2.2 Commentary on the Muller-Saunders proof . 8 ∗c/o The Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge, UK, CB3 9DA. Email: [email protected] 1 3 Muller and Seevinck on discernment 10 3.1 The Muller-Seevinck result . 10 3.2 Commentary on the Muller-Seevinck result . 12 4 A better way to discern particles 14 4.1 The basic idea . 14 4.2 The variance operator . 14 4.3 Variance provides a discerning relation . 16 4.4 Discernment for all two-particle states . 18 4.5 Discernment for all many-particle states . 22 5 Conclusion 24 1 Introduction 1.1 Getting clear on Leibniz's Principle What is the fate of Leibniz's Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles for quantum mechanics? It depends, of course, on how the Principle is translated into modern (enough) parlance for the evaluation to be made.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Philosophy in a Naturalized World
    EuJAP | Vol. 8 | No. 1 | 2012 ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER UDK: 1 Dummett, M. 1:53 530.1:140.8 113/119 THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY IN A NATURALIZED WORLD JAN FAYE University of Copenhagen ABSTRACT 1. Introduction This paper discusses the late Michael Dummett’s Why are humanists and natural scientists characterization of the estrangement between unable to understand one another? Th is physics and philosophy. It argues against those physicists who hold that modern physics, seems to be one of the two main questions rather than philosophy, can answer traditional that concern Sir Michael in his thought- metaphysical questions such as why there is provoking essay “Th e Place of Philosophy something rather than nothing. The claim is that in the European Culture.” He does not physics cannot solve metaphysical problems since metaphysical issues are in principle himself supply us with any defi nite answer, empirically underdetermined. The paper closes but suggests that philosophers in general with a critical discussion of the assumption of do not know much about the natural some cosmologists that the Universe was created sciences, and therefore do not dare to speak out of nothing: In contrast to this misleading up against the natural scientists (and those assumption, it is proposed that the Universe has a necessary existence and that the present epoch who do are not interested in the same kind after the Big Bang is a contingent realization of of problems as the scientists.) Moreover, the Universe. because of the great success of the natural sciences scientists are often arrogant by Keywords: : Dummett, physics, philosophy, meta- assuming that the only knowledge we physics, underdetermination, cosmology can have is the knowledge they are able to provide.
    [Show full text]
  • Testing Superdeterministic Conspiracy Found
    Testing Superdeterministic Conspiracy Found. Phys. 41:1521-1531 (2011), arXiv:1105.4326 [quant-ph] Sabine Hossenfelder Nordita What is Superdeterminism? • No free will: Not possible to chose detector settings independent of prepared state. • “Conspiracy” theories: misleading expression. • Really: Nonlocal correlations necessary, but • Not necessarily spooky at a distance. • Hidden variables, yes, but not necessarily realist. Nonlocality “A theory will be said to be locally causal if the probabilities attached to values of local beables in a space-time region 1 are unaltered by specification of values of local beables in a space-like separated region 2, when what happens in the backward light cone of 1 is already sufficiently specified, for example by a full specification of local beables in a space-time region 3…” ~ J. S. Bell Why Superdeterminism? • Because I like it. • Because it’s possible and hasn’t been ruled out since Bell’s theorem can’t be used. • Logically: Can never be ruled out, but certain models can be ruled out. • Try to be as model-independent as possible. What kind of Superdeterminism? • Assume: Hidden variables come from environment. • Assume: dofs beyond experiment’s scale decouple. • Assume: Born rule fulfilled. • No assumptions about collapse or likewise. How to test Superdeterminism? • Main difference to standard QM: The same initial state will lead to the same outcome. No indeterminism. • But “the same state” now means “the same hidden variables”. So we don’t know how to prepare the “same” state twice. • Avoid problem by repeating measurements on one state. Use non-commuting variables. Testing Superdeterminism • Repeatedly measure non-commuting variables on one state.
    [Show full text]